H.H.S. E3K. The acre* a team comtte Rtk, which anchored in Hobeon's Bey on Monday, it the latest (Uita to the British fleet in these waltn. Thli le sot the IIrot time that the, oorvette he* vMUd the port. Twelve month* •go the celled here to oori, on her way to New Zealand, but her visit war too brief then —only of • lew hours' duration—for u* to do more then record the fact. Since then the Esk ha* played no nnnotioed part In the Maori hostilities, the aoene of which ahe was hastening to. She took an active (hare in the Thame* expedition, was employed subsequently to blockade the aoathern coast of the Hurakl Gnl£ landed a large por tion of htr men for the arduou* riser aervioe on the Waikato, and finally took a pro minent part In the operation* on the east { eoaat On the Waikato she loet an active and gallant officer. In the peraon of Lieutenant Mitchell, who was mortally wounded while engaged on the Avon trantport steamer. After thle, First Lieutenant Duff, now com mander of the Cu...

OPEN COLUMN. TUB PRIMEVAL ALPHABET. TO THE SDITOB Of THE AtTflTEitlAUV. Sir,—Conceiting the author of the Bietory ■ of the Primeval Alphabet to be the moet fit person to prosecute antediluvian researches, I would humbly suggest to him an under taking worthy of bis peculiar abilities. Jceephue (Arch. I, 8) writes, that the people before the floods taking alarm at a prophecy which their grandslre Adam had uttered, that the world should bo destroyed once by '"flood and again by fire, and fearing lest many notable Inventions should be thereby lost to those who should come after them, deter mined to set up two pillars, one of brick and another of stone, and to inscribe upon each of them an inventory of their goods and chattels, for the benefit of whom it might concern, thinking that if the Satby days destroyed the briok the stone might survive to tell the tale. Now It so happened that the stone pillar did weather tbo Great Flood; and Josephus eaye it wai stilt in eaisteaoe tn his day In ...

THE GAZETTE. The following notificationa here appeared In the Qotmmni Qtatit: Lioislatiy* Coukcil.—'The Governor hu received a retain to the writ tamed tor tbe election of one member toaerve to the Iregie Itlite Council lor the Sooth Province, la tbe room of Thooiee Herbert Foier, Get, who retired fay rotation i and by the endowment on euch writ It appear* that William Henry PtCMt, Eeq, ot Hawthorn, hat been duly elected a member for tbe aaid province. IdtGMUxrra AminutT.—Tba Governor hm received letnnie to certain of the write tancd for the election of member* to serve in tbe Lrglebtive AamnHr; nod by the endorse ment* on each write, the undermentioned gentlemen appear to hove been daly elected, vie.Louie Lawrence Smith ond Ulcbael O Grady. for South Booths; Peter Snodgrem, for South Giprs Lond; Joehue OoweQ, of Melbourne, and John Sbenrin, of Braemore, Momng, for Beat Bourke; Jame* M'Baln, or Melbourne: merchant for tns Wimmera; and OwH> Onlllni lony, of Sot Mellwurne, tor Norm...

THE MINISTER OF CUSTOMS AT RICHMOND. Mr. 3. G. Fran elf, who seeks re-election nt the hands of the cotifctltt>"ncy of Richmond, j addressed the electors the district on j Tueedny at the Volunteer Orderly-room, Qlpps strcet. About 400 electors were present Mr. P. S. Campbell occupied the chair. Mr. Fbakcis (who was received with cheers) raid that after cm acquaintance of some five or six years he thought that his service* might entitle him to thtlr deliberate con sideration of sheh matter as he might that evening faring under their notice. When he first presented himself to the elector! of Richmond he expressed himself In favour of .a programme on the land question | which aisTmilated very closely to the pro grnmme of the Government of which he was now a member. They proposed to deal j with the present bill in euoh a w»y as would, in their opinion, obtain its passage through j the Upper Bones, and at the same time retain many of the advantages of the bill first Intro duced. They t...

ADVERTISEMENTS, TO ADVERTISERS. [The advertisement! appearing in this part of the paper having been sent in too late for classification, liavc not the advantage of the country circulation.] Amusements. T HEATRE ROYAL. Sole Lessee and Manager, Barry Sullivan. THIS EVENING (SATURDAY), 0CI0BE4 15, Positively LASr KTQBT Of the celebrated Nautical Drama By Edward Fitaball, Esq., With New Soenery, Dresses, Ac. Id which BARRY SULLIVAN M'UI sppear as LONG TOM COFFIN. Mr. G. LEOPOLD Will Dance Ills celebrated Hornpljuj for the last time this evening. First appearance ot Miss CABBY GEORGE. First appearance of Mr. B. W. L A W R A N C E. The Magnificent Sew Sceaerr by Mr. ao. BENKLNQ8, Assisted bv Mr. FREVBERGER. The Machinery by Mr. ECOTT ond ASSISTANTS. Properties by Messrs. TROTTER, DUNN, and ASSISTANTS. C stumor by Mra. BENNETT and ASSISTANTS, Grand Entr' Actc and Incidental Music by Professor HUGHES. The Evening's Entertainments will commence (at 7.39 precisely) with the celebrated Nautica...

ELECTION GOSSIP. Mr. Mlchie has been indooed to offer him self m • candidate for the representation of j St. Hilda. In hie address to the electors Mr. MJchlc says" You are doubtless aware that until recently It was my Intention to stand for another constituency, from many of whom I have received the strongest assnranoesof success. Bet one of your late members, Mr. Brodribb, haTing retired temporarily from political life, I feel I may now, withoat direct antagonism with any particular candidate, again seek the honour of representing a dis trict in which 1 have been so many years a nsldenL" A requisition, signed by 283 electors, resi dent in Carlton and Hotham, has been presented to Mr. Thomas Dickson, Inviting him to become a candidate for the represen tation of North Melbourne in the Legislative Assembly. Mr. Dickson has promised to give his answer in the course of a few days. We ate told that Mr. Pbelsn has been asked, also by requisition, to contest the same con stituency. The Mar...

TO O0&amp;BBSF05DEHT8. We bare to thank variona correapondenla for communieationf, which willreoeiTe attention ■a won aa we can find room for them. Large ai Tit Axttralatian ii, it ii none too large for the maaa. of natter whioh preaaea upon our oolumga for Inaartion. The hienda and mdera of the Sate Feona* rnuat not auppoae that the apace we derote toeubjeota in which they are intonated {a limited by the page to which the none of the "Yeoman" ia giren. The neoeaailaea of a paper of the form and of the aoope of Zie Jhultalo^mi, compel the diatribotion of natter enentaally of a Yeoman character orcr rarioua jpagea. In the aggregate, theae : acattatred arttolea and bita of information „ willbafoundto oonatitute a huge maaa of infanmHoti. ■ Oorreapondenta aieroqueated to aend in their ~ oommunioatione raj early in the week, aa ' the 1Mb country edition U puhliahed early ■ on Thuraday nomiqg. The eeoond ootmtry edition it puhliahed on Friday morning, and , the town edition on Saturd...

Barky —On the Cth inst., at her residence, Nott strect, Sandridge, Mrs. E. A. Barry of a daughter. Bates.—On the 1st inst., at 4 Mctoria-terrace, Kapier strect, Mrs. C. Bates of a daughter. Creed.—On the Cth inst., at her mother's residence, iu Prahran, Bertha, the wife of Eugene Creed, ln glewood, of a son. Both doing «eiL Djcksos.—On tlie ?tb inst., at Ascot Vale, the wife of Robert Dickson of a son. Ford.—On the 10th inst., at Eaton Cottage, Neptune street, St. Hilda, Mi>. William Ford of a son. Handheld.—On theClh inst., at St- Peter's Parson age, Melbourne, the wife of Mr. F. O. Handheld, late H.M.C.S. Victoria, of a daughter. Hind.—On the Cth inst., at No. 9 Barry-street, the wife of Mr. J. W. Hind of a daughter. Kkoiiave—On the 30th nit., at Brighton, the wife of Mr. James Keohaae of a son. Ban dells.—On the 6th inst., at Abbotstord, the wife of ft*. G. Landells of a son. Lvcas.—On the 10th inst., at Warwick Cottage, Henry-street, Windsor, Mrs. (Suites James Lucas of aeon....

NEW ZEALAND. AUCKLAND (Via Bum), tor. a The Prinoe Alfred bring! dale* from Ami land to the let Inatani Quit prrperatlou are brine made to reoommenoe war at Tan. nakl. The offioer* abeent oa lea re hare tea ordered to loin their reglmenta. The 13th, 28th, 48rd, and 80th Reglmenta will leare Auckland for Tart nakl and Wan ganul very ahortly. The Provincial Coonotl era* to open on tin 6th of October. It h reported on the beat authority that geld baa been dboovared In the Wrikafo dtetricL Oaptaln Qey, of the barque Jeaaie, baa bees aentenoed to five months' lmpriaoaimeet;for amaoltlrs g one of Ida seaman; and tin mate eraa aentenoed to three months' imprison* neat for being Implicated in the aaaanlt Bir Frauds Murphy and Doctor Gum, oommiarionen tar fixing the alte for tlienaa capital of Hear Zealand, ma paaaangoa far Sydney by the Prinoe Alfred. The Flying Bqabnl aalbd for Melbonrca on tbe 29tb Se&amp;taBbtf* Cattle vm quoted at £1117a 6ito£lt 17a 6d., flonr at £26, and wheat at 1...

TELEGRAMS. SYDNEY. Baiumut. The Prince d, from Auckland, hu brought pnpen to the let lint The rebel* wboeecaped from KnuUtt been traced to Greet Haha, when they hare built e ft, end we provirionlng for • riefe. They have been eupplled with mesnl kega of powder by the no called friendly native* and they procured come 350 vtend of arm from eome coerce. The Government deepatched Mr. White there. He new the rebel* who promtoed to Teturn, on eoadltton that the Government would give them land to culti vate for their own uee. Qenecal Oaueron bad iwaedordeaforthe whole of the troop* except portion* of two rrilaimtr, to leave tor Taraoaki, where a i^e to impending. Vip qnanHtine of ■Mttriel bad alao been chipped thither by On the return of Sir George Qtey toon Kawan, the lQntotry tendered their rerigna tion, bnt the papem ntate that the acoeptanoe of the raignailon ie improbable. Certain military offioea have eent la a claim on behalf of their ragiment* tor priae tnimey out of the proceed* o...

CA8TLE MAINE DI8TKICT. Tb* Ajax Oo*PiJnr, — At the quarterly j meeting of this company, held on Saturday, It m« (tailed In tta halanwHihoct that the company «u £2,800 tie debt, althonjh It had bet n former)? nwertcd that the debt wae only XI £00, and # «peoUl eontribatton had been made lockertb8 the JiibfinT. - lfc CUifcj, the director, *m celled on to ecptaln tbto, and he aeooooted fat It bycterinc tiut the new hoard had tcoomd X760 &amp;lt;rf that a atonal. i To tide, Mr. Griffith, chairman of the btecd. j gate enuMttmqcelUed dentil, dcoeacdhat | violent and psison-d disou&amp;&gt;ion ensaed, and it was determined to adjourn the general moct ing for a week. Tbe meeting was then made special to confi.m or disallow thesuspension of the manngiiig diuctor by the board; and Mr. OrW'h tnnd-1 a eerier of chnrgee against Mr. Clarke, who demanded a week to prepare hiB answer. A fiei some angry discussion this was granted, and the meeting wag adjourned for a week accordingly. Th...

TALBOT DISTRICT. Starting or tjie MjtcuiNKHTOFTnBRorAL Standard Gold-mining CostFAKt. — lu answer to invitations issued by tlie directors, about 100 ladies and gentlemen attended at the claim of the Royal Standard Gold-timing CoinjNinv to witness the ptartingjof the engine. The cluim of this company consist* of sixty teres of ground, known us Sunders' paddock, which the company htive leased. Nearly a year ago the ehuft woe first commenced, and it was sunk to o depth of eighty-three feet. A plant hud been obtained, and its erection nearly completed, when operations were sus pended in consequence of its being ascertained that the company's lease was defective, and that they had not a good title to the ground. Several mouths elapsed before matters could be satisfactorily arranged, and work has only been icceutly commenced. Formerly, a com pany known as the Independent Gold-mining Company was at work' near the present shaft, but, although they had some rich ground, there was such a want...